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Australian veterinary school seeks accreditation

Brisbane, Australia -- The University of Queensland School of Veterinary Science in Australia has requested, and will be granted, an AVMA Council on Education (COE) consultative site visit.

The site visit is a preliminary step in achieving accreditation.

When a foreign college requests a consultative site visit, the COE sends a small team that provides unofficial suggestions on what the school might do to meet COE standards, says Dr. David Granstrom, director of the American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) Education and Research Division. The college then has five years to address concerns and request a comprehensive site visit.

If the COE determines the college is close, a site visit is planned.

It's expensive and time consuming for all concerned, so the COE only plans site visits if it believes the program is close to meeting COE standards, according to Granstrom says.

A total of nine foreign colleges already hold AVMA accreditation in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Accreditation would not only serve as a benchmarking tool for the University of Queensland, but it also means that graduates would be able to practice in the U.S. without any more requirements than graduates of stateside schools.

Two COE members and one AVMA staff member will travel to Australia in 2010 for the site visit.